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Graham Handscomb, principal adviser with the School Improvement Service for the Essex local authority, talks about what we know about the best ways for teachers to learn.
Over recent years there has been a revolution in our understanding of professional learning – in terms both of what it is and our understanding about what works. Ever since the publication by the DfES of Learning and Teaching: a Strategy for Professional Development (2001), with the shift of focus to school-based continuing professional development (CPD), the emphasis has been on learning together, learning from the best, and learning from what works (Handscomb, 2002/3).
So what are the ingredients of effective CPD? Well, first and foremost it is about being school determined and led. Teachers, local authorities, training organisations and government departments all concur that effective professional development starts in the school and is focused on the craft of the classroom. Within any school there is a tremendous amount of experience that is untapped and needs to be used for the benefit of others. Professional learning is not about injecting inputs from elsewhere but rather about schools identifying their own needs robustly, capitalising on the expertise within and deciding how this can be complemented by contributions from elsewhere.
Second, it is increasingly clear that CPD that makes a difference is linked to teaching and learning. Teachers and other staff report that professional learning sticks and has a lasting effect when it is related to what they do in the classroom and contributes to improving the craft of teaching. This includes not just the honing of teaching techniques but also engaging in reflection on one’s practice and consideration of the values and purposes of teaching.
Next is the powerful ingredient of collaborative learning. The Teachers’ Professional Learning Framework (TPLF), which was created by the GTC, emphasises “the value of moving collegial learning from the margins of professional practice to the heart of it”.
We know the importance of the social dimension for the learning for children and young people and it is no less important for us as adult professional learners. We now have a significant growing body of evidence about the effectiveness of networked learning communities (NCSL, 2002; Essex County Council, 2003; Handscomb and MacBeath, 2005) and research-based consortia (TTA, 2002), which shows the importance of teachers and schools working collaboratively. Together they can more effectively identify CPD needs and can draw on a wider pool of networked expertise and good practice.
Reflecting on and investigating your own practice can be one of most liberating and rewarding forms of CPD. Where practitioners, singly or collaboratively, have engaged in some form of enquiry they have found it to be a highly satisfying and energising CPD activity.
For teachers who have engaged in researching their own school and classrooms it has not only brought new insights, new levels of understanding and new challenges, but has enhanced the quality of teaching and learning at the same time (Handscomb and MacBeath, 2005). Many schools are recognising these benefits not just for individuals but also for the whole institution and are making commitments to developing as research engaged schools, applying the enquiry process to school self-evaluation and improvement (Handscomb and MacBeath, 2003; 2006).
Taken together all these ingredients make a potent mix for school professional development co-ordinators to manage. The challenge will be for them to do so in a way that fulfils the needs of the individual and school, while contributing to a body of professional knowledge that can be shared among all within the wider community and beyond.
DfES (2001) Learning and Teaching: A Strategy for Professional Development.
Essex County Council (2003) Educational Enquiry and Research in Essex. Essex Forum for Learning and Research Enquiry (FLARE).
GTC (2002) Teachers’ Professional Learning Framework.
Handscomb, G. (2002/3) ‘Learning and Developing Together’ in Professional Development Today Volume 6 Issue 1, Winter 2002/3.
Handscomb, G. and MacBeath, J. (2003) The Research Engaged School. FLARE.
Handscomb, G. and MacBeath, J. (2005) ‘Professional Development Through Teacher Enquiry’ in Topic issue 33, April 2005. National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER).
Handscomb, G. and MacBeath, J. (2006) ‘Research Engaged School Health Check’ in Leading a Research-engaged School. National College for School Leadership (NCSL).
NCSL (2002) Becoming a Networked Learning Community: Improving Learning and Leadership Together.
Teacher Training Agency (2002) School Based Research Consortium: Working and Learning in Partnership. DfES.
Essex Forum for Learning and Research Enquiry (FLARE)
www.essexflare.org/
National College for School Leadership
www.ncsl.org.uk/
National Foundation for Educational Research
www.nfer.ac.uk/index.cfm
